I recently came upon the following prose written by Andre Maurois (1885-1967), biographer, novelist, essayist, and childrens writer, best known for his vivid, romantic style biographies of such authors as Shelley, Byron, Balzac, Proust and others.

I am offering his words to you today without additional comments from me ~ what he shares is clear, concise and very much to the point. Please enjoy …

Life is too short to be little. Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. Perhaps some man we helped has proved ungrateful; some woman we believe to be a friend has spoken ill of us; some honor we thought we deserved has been denied us. We feel such disappointments so strongly that we can no longer work or sleep.

But isn’t that absurd? Here we are on this earth, with only a few more decades to live, and we lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that in a year’s time will be forgotten by us and by everyone else.

No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, real affections, and enduring undertakings.